Rassie rewarded Wellington heroes, but there is a job to do

The Springbok selection for their Castle Lager Rugby Championship showdown in Durban with Argentina was based mostly on rewarding the heroes of the big win in Wellington, but also because it is the right team that the Bok management believe can win - and therefore take another step towards defending their title.

Coach Rassie Erasmus explained on Tuesday afternoon that the selection was mostly based on form, and the changes were mostly because of injuries, as the Boks continued their preparations for the Durban match.

With all four teams still capable of winning the title, Saturday’s game is important if the Boks want to defend their title and a good win is almost non-negotiable for this side as well. Apart from that, backing up the Wellington form is another important step for the side, which has been a bit inconsistent this season.

For that reason, Damian Willemse moved back to 15 to accommodate the loss to injury of Aphelele Fassi, while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu won a close selection battle with Manie Libbok. Libbok is on the bench and Erasmus hinted that in the return game at Twickenham next weekend, the latter may be used.

DAMIAN CHOICE A NO-BRAINER

“Firstly, Fassi is injured and he's out for quite some time and I think we were quite honest about Damian. You know, he was struggling a bit with form and we thought about bringing him closer to the game at 12 where he can just be a little bit more instinctive, that's the honest truth.

"We thought about just bringing him back into it and then in the game we got an injury and he went to 15, he was just as comfortable,” Erasmus said.

“So, he's done many great things for us. People think he's young but he's won World Cups and British and Irish Lions Series. So, I think he's back to top form. Sometimes you just need one game to get you back there. I think it's quite an obvious choice.”

Erasmus spoke about the tough choice at 10, especially as Libbok had performed exceptionally well in Wellington when he came on as a replacement.

“I think people start thinking I'm just saying the things because it's a nice answer but we really think that our players are really close to each other and I know a lot of people try to sometimes say, not our people, but that we don't know who's our best team.

“But we like not to know who is our best team and the guys are really competing well. You know, we've given a little bit of continuity. This is a crunch game but last weekend was a crunch game and the previous game was a crunch game and it will be like that for the rest of the year.

“We're only halfway now. So, Manie played really well but Sascha was awesome when he played there

COULD EXPERIMENT IF GAME GOES WELL

“And Handré is not in this team. We hope if things go our way this week it will be nice to change a little bit next week again. Manie played awesome but Manie is on the bench and if things go great, maybe give him a run and move Sasha during the game to 15 again and maybe Gazza back to 12 and André to loose forward.

“So, whatever happens in the game, let's hope it works out so we can experiment a little bit with a lot of respect for Argentina at the same time.”

Erasmus explained that tighthead Wilco Louw, who sparked the Bok runaway win with his first scrum on the field as a replacement, was being used as a replacement because he added more value late in the game.

“You know, there was a long time when Malcolm (Marx) played off the bench and Bongi (Mbonambi) started and Malcolm came and finished games and really changed the game for us and there wasn't much to pick between Bongi and Malcolm at this stage.

“At this stage Bongi unfortunately had some illness in the family and he's only really joined us now in the last week or so, so we'll just get him up to speed again.

THOMAS VS WILCO

“The same with Wilco, you know. Wilco definitely, we all know, is one of the world's best scrummers.

"Thomas is technically very good, but as you say, his mobility over the field, covering ground, handling that fast pace which Australia brought and New Zealand brought to us, and then we, rightly or wrongly, we feel Wilco really brings that edge for us in scrums but also then in general play when the game's a little bit slower.”

Erasmus said he was expecting a tough clash against Argentina, especially with the strides they had made under coach Felipe Contempomi.

“Both teams are obviously in the running for the Rugby Championship. I think they were really, really good. The Lions game, Australia, you know, both Australia games I thought they could have won.

“And you have Felipe Contepomi, I mean, he's my age, we're from the same era. They've got a lot of experience and different cultures and their team play all over the world.

"And you've got them organised, energetic, young guys, fearless, and they'll probably come and try and score three tries against us to try and be in the mix for the Rugby Championship.”

Argentina name their side for the clash on Thursday.